Thursday, October 22, 2009

Advocates of a government-run health insurance plan, called the "public option," touted a new poll showing clear majorities of Americans support the idea when phrased as "magic pixie dust."

Pollsters had been asking people whether or not they supported "the government's creation of a new health insurance plan to compete with private health insurance plans."

But critics pointed out that phrasing was misleading because the government would not compete with private plans, but rather impose restrictive fees and taxes on them, undercut their prices with taxpayer money, and eventually drive them out of business, leaving the government plan as the only one available.

As a result, pollsters came up with a shorter, more accurate polling question that shows clear majorities supporting a "magic pixie dust" option over "hard reality."